At the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret proved her mastery over the laws of physics once and for all. Laughing in the face of gravity, she scaled the women’s Lead route with little difficulty, becoming the first woman to claim two gold medals in sport climbing.
However, just as she was proclaimed the greatest female sport climber of all-time by pundits and fans alike, the Slovenian superstar decided it was time to hit pause, reflect and take a sabbatical from competitive climbing.
And so, she found herself clinging on to some of Europe’s finest rock walls without a camera in sight – save the one wielded by her personal photographer,
“It was more for the soul and for the mind to break the routine from training, and just to enjoy the nature,” Garnbret said of climbing on natural rock.
While the break from competitive climbing gave her a chance to enjoy the sport in its rawest form, it also provided the world’s top female climber with an opportunity to reset and recharge after a demanding Olympic cycle.
“I chose a couple of World Cups which I usually enjoy the most,” explained Slovenia’s most decorated Summer Olympian. “And I really did enjoy [them].”
Making the most of her time on the wall, she won all three World Cups she entered last season, leaving the 2025 World Climbing Championships with gold medals in both Boulder and Lead – just your typical G.O.A.T. activities.
“I’m a competitor by heart,” Garnbret confessed to Olympics.com after winning her 10th world title. “I just love competing and this is how I express myself. I enjoy the pressure, the atmosphere, so that’s why I keep competing.
“What motivates me the most is not only the wins, but the progress. That you get better and better every year. This is what keeps me motivated.”
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Managing the pressure, while chasing another milestone
Garnbret intends to limit her competition schedule once more this season, albeit with a few more World Climbing Series stops thrown into the mix, as the road to the Olympic Games LA28 picks up pace with two years to go in July.
While the pressure to win increases every time she notches yet another invitational, World Climbing Series or World Climbing Championships victory, the climber from tiny township of Slovenj Gradec – located in the northern most reaches of Slovenia – welcomes the challenge.
“I just try to go competition by competition,” said the double Olympic champion. “I always said, the most important thing is to enjoy, always enjoy – that’s the key. To be completely focused on myself, on my climbing, and just to execute perfectly and have fun along the way – this is my recipe.”
With 18 wins in Boulder and 31 wins in Lead on the World Climbing Series, she’ll begin the season chasing one of the biggest milestones in her career yet: winning her 50th World Climbing Series competition.
“It feels like I’m carrying a backpack with all the expectations, the pressure, the fear of failure,” she cautioned, discussing the mounting pressure to perform.
“I think it’s getting harder, year by year, because I only defend. I never attack like the other girls, so I’m always in some kind of defence mode.”
Of course, climbing with the fear of losing isn’t something Garnbret intends to do long term, which is why she approaches every competition with a fresh mindset – as if she wasn’t one of the most decorated female climbers in history.
“It gets harder every year, so every win from now on is more meaningful,” she said.
Passion guides the way ahead of the LA28 Olympics
If it wasn’t clear based on her earlier responses, sport climbing has completely overtaken Garnbret’s life. From hours of training to ever-popular autograph sessions, there’s little in her life that doesn’t revolve around climbing – not that she’d have it any other way.
“Climbing pretty much occupies my whole life,” confirmed Garnbret between press commitments and competition at the 2025 World Climbing Championships. “Even if I’m not climbing, I do have some other obligations related to climbing, so there’s barely enough time.”
While she’d gladly welcome a little more free-time between training sessions, competitions, media opportunities and long-term projects, there’s certainly worse ways to live than becoming consumed by your greatest passion – something she hopes to impart upon young climbers.
“You need to be really passionate about your sport and what you’re doing,” she responded, when asked what advice she’d give to young climbers looking to follow in her footsteps.
“Even if it’s sport or education, or you’re playing some instrument, you need to be really passionate what you are doing. You need have the self-discipline. You need to be committed to what you’re doing.”
It’s why she’s continued to dedicate herself so holistically to the sport. Because even though she could be lounging on a beach somewhere, drinking coconut water and taking a well-deserved nap, she knows there’s more work to be done if she wants to become the first female climber to win three – or more – gold medals at the Olympic Games.
“I want to defend my titles from Tokyo and Paris, so this is the next big goal for me,” she told Olympics.com, noting that she’d like to compete in both Boulder and Lead. “I hope I will enjoy it.”
It’s certainly hard to imagine anything, but gold in the future for a climber who has so often lived out their personal motto – “Dream it, believe it, achieve it” – on the world’s biggest stage.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/sport-climbing-janja-garnbret-weight-of-success
